Snapshots
by hercat
Summary: Life is in the little things. Snapshots from a life together. Humor. Kakashi and Iruka, as usual.
1. A Blooming Relationship

A blooming relationship

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

* * *

To say that having Sakura's Jounin instructor walk into the Yamanaka Flower Shop was a surprise to Ino, would have been understating things a little. After all, Jounin tended to go in for more practical shopping. Like weapons. Still, Ino had been doing this for years and called out a cheery welcome as usual.

Since this was one of the top level nin, she offered to help, but didn't leave the counter and went back to her magazine. She'd found that ninja, in general, didn't like someone looking over their shoulder or offering advice. Besides, it wasn't like they'd be too nervous to ask questions.

There were times Ino thought it was a great advantage, running a shop. She got to see and talk to people from all over Konoha, and it was hard to be nervous around someone who you'd seen spending over an hour trying to choose flowers for a first date. You also got used to _some_ of the weird behaviors, so when a single long-stemmed rose was shoved under her nose without a word, she simply took it.

"Would you like the thorns removed for your girlfriend?" The answer was probably yes, but it was good to give a ninja a little warning before you pulled out a knife.

"Girlfriend?" It was the first thing the Jounin had said so far. _Big forehead girl said his name is Kakashi. I hope that wasn't some stupid nickname she gave him._

"Kakashi-sensei, right?" The Jounin nodded abruptly. _Oops, should have let him introduce himself. Now he's all tense._ "Every plant has a meaning. Roses traditionally mean 'I love you'. If you take the thorns off, it means 'I'll protect you' also."

"That's not right," muttered Kakashi tiredly rubbing at the back of his head. He looked, in Ino's humble opinion, like he hadn't slept in a week. "Well I _would_, but…"

"Well, if you tell me the message, I'm sure I can find the right gift, no problem. It's my specialty," she said with a bright grin to hide the sarcastic comment she wanted to make.

"Message? Well, I guess that it's… 'I screwed up and I'm sorry…but I do that a lot so you should get used to it…And even if I had another chance, I'd probably do exactly the same thing anyway.' " _Weirdo._

The Jounin stared off into space before focusing on her again. "Yeah, that's about right. Do you have that one?" There was an edge to the gaze that made her think that _maybe_ she hadn't been quite as successful at covering up her feelings as she'd thought.

Nevertheless, Ino prided herself on the fact that her smile only faltered a _teeny_ bit. "Of course," she lied breezily. "Well, fairly close to that. It's in the back though; I'll go pick a nice one out for you."

And before the socially inept, and possibly also deranged Jounin could say anything further, she'd slipped into the back and closed the door behind herself.

After miming a screaming fit to the shelves of plants, she started passing between the rows. _He obviously doesn't know anything about flowers, but as socially handicapped as he is, he's a teacher and a Jounin, so probably pretty good at bullshit detecting. I could just tell him we're out, which is kind of true._

Ino didn't like that idea. Aside from the lack of income, it reflected badly on the shop, and more importantly, on her status as a social leader. And it was a chance to outdo big forehead girl. After all, _Sakura_ hadn't been asked for her advice, had she?

_There has to be something that…AAH! PERFECT!_

She quickly repotted her chosen victim into a nice kitchen themed flowerpot and brought it proudly out to be placed on the counter. The Ninja stared at it blankly for a minute before reaching out to poke at one of the fleshy, spiky, green leaves.

"Here you go Kakashi-san. An aloe plant is perfect. The leaves are good for burns, so it has a healing sentiment. It's practical for a kitchen, so an unobtrusive gift. Also, for a plant, they're difficult to kill."

_And,_ Ino thought triumphantly, _it kind of looks like your hair, so if all else fails, she can mutilate the plant instead of you, the next time you screw up._

Kakashi-san was gently running fingers across one of the leaves, he nodded slowly.

Ino cheerfully rang up the sale and waved at Kakashi as he walked back out into the street, aloe carefully tucked underneath his arm. She turned back to her magazine.

_Being in a relationship with someone so insensitive must be awful. That's certainly a mistake _I'd_ never make._


	2. Strays

Strays

* * *

Breakfast, thought Kakashi, smelled wonderful, even at the other end of the house. He could dimly recall a time when food was irrelevant, nothing more than tasteless fuel for the body.

Iruka had apparently never experienced this. Kakashi could vividly recall a half-hour speech about toast. The words weren't too clear, but he could still see Iruka, barefoot in the kitchen, face alight with pleasure as he'd explained.

He'd talked about the importance of good quality bread and the way it felt in your hands, faintly warm and dusted with flour. The way it smelt, breathing in as if he could conjure it by mind alone. He'd even talked about the way it sounded when you first cut the loaf, the hard crust cracking to reveal the warm centre.

This had been followed by talk of toasting, types of bread, butter, jam…

The memory was one of his most precious possessions. Iruka relaxed and happy, his fingers tracing a shape now and then in the air, building an illusion without a single drop of chakra. As he shared a part of himself with Kakashi. Not one of the deep, dark secrets, but somehow all the more important for that.

And afterwards, when he'd wound to a stop, somewhere after jelly vs. jam, he'd _apologized._ Blushed and looked away and actually apologized for _boring_ Kakashi. As if that were even possible.

As if there could be anything more beautiful than his lover's face lost in pleasure.

Speaking of which…

Kakashi was surprised to find that Iruka wasn't alone in the kitchen. There was a large orange cat on the kitchen table drinking Kakashi's coffee out of Kakashi's favourite mug.

Iruka, working at the stove was apparently oblivious. When he came in, the cat looked up.

It was, Kakashi quickly decided, the _ugliest_ animal he'd ever seen. It was covered in scars and missing one eye, a chunk of its left ear and most of its tail.

It took one look at him and started growling, a low deep tone better suited to one of his nin dogs. One of the larger ones.

Of course, none of his dogs were quite that…feral looking.

If Kakashi could have given that stare words, they would have been 'You might be bigger than me, but that just means I'll have to eat more of you to reach a vital organ.'

Not one to back down, he glared back.

This was of course when Iruka chose to turn around with breakfast.

"What…Oh you two! Hana-kun stop that."

"Hana…" Somebody had named that feral looking beast _flower_? This cat was _built_ to be named Lucifer. Or at least Trouble or Squirrel Killer.

"Well, I found him in the flowerbed. He needed a bit of patching up."

_Could do with a bit more_ thought Kakashi uncharitably. Dropping the plates to the table, Iruka actually picked up the little monster and dropped it to the floor. Surprisingly, the little beast didn't even try to remove fingers.

Kakashi figured out why when Iruka dumped a bag of fishguts into a bowl on the floor.

"You feed it?"

"Well, whenever he comes by," said Iruka with a shrug. "It's not like I leave food out permanently."

"He's just taking advantage of you," said Kakashi sullenly, not quite sure why he felt offended on Iruka's behalf.

Iruka had leaned over and started petting the creature, which shot him a look that said 'I suppose I can be persuaded to tolerate this' before going back to his dinner.

"I suppose that's true," said Iruka thoughtfully, "But if you're being cynical, there's a price to pay for every relationship sooner or later." Iruka followed up this dark statement with a sunny smile. "So really, I'm lucky to get away with something as cheap as leftovers."

Drawn in by Iruka's tale, Kakashi reached out to Hana. Who instantly sunk a set of sharp little teeth into his palm. Through the protective glove. _Yeah, that's about right._

Kakashi tried to pull his hand back, but Hana just hung on, paws skidding across the tiles. Lifting his hand up didn't work either, the cat hanging on just like a fish on a line. Not trying to claw him or get loose, but refusing to let go either.

Somehow Kakashi couldn't imagine that carving 'Hana-kun' into furry little chunks would be acceptable.

Over his shoulder he could hear Iruka laugh softly.

"Here," he said reaching down to poke the cat in the stomach. Hana fell go with an indignant squawk, and with a glare in Kakashi's direction went back to eating.

Kakashi sat down in front of his coffee, now bristling with cat hair, and pulled off his glove, eyeing the neat circle of puncture marks. _Probably rabid_, he thought mournfully to himself.

"Why can't you get a civilized pet if you want one so badly?" he grumped staring at the furball occupying the corner. "Something a little less dangerous." _Like a minor demon. Oh wait, he already has one. I'm surprised it hasn't ripped his throat out while he's sleeping._

Iruka brought over two fresh cups of coffee, absently placing the contaminated one on the floor.

"Oh, I guess I just like a bit of challenge in my relationships." There was an odd amusement to his eyes.

Kakashi told himself it was the lack of caffeine in his system that kept him from catching on instantly. Then…

"Are you comparing me to the damn cat?"


	3. Picture Perfect

Picture Perfect.

By Hercat

Summary: They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. But some photos are priceless.

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is a bunch of DeadLines. Help! They're gaining on me!

Reviews: Yes please.

* * *

The whole thing started, as a disproportionate number of things did in Konoha, with Naruto.

Iruka was, also as usual, not aware what the boy was up to until it was much, much, too late.

* * *

The first time, he was at the academy.

"Sensei – so kawaii," squealed one of the young TAs, as she darted past, late to the class she was covering.  
"Um…Thank you?" She was already gone, so he turned back to his class.

The second time, he was on his way to the missions room, jogging a little, made late by a slew of curious questions.  
"Sensei," rumbled a voice.  
"Ah, Asuma-Sensei. Is there something I can help you with? I'm in a bit of a hurry, I'm afraid."  
"Just wanted to say, nice picture."  
"Picture, what picture?" Asuma gave him a peculiar smirk.  
"Heading to the missions desk?"  
"Un."  
"I'll walk with you then. We'd better hurry, it's almost shift change." Iruka shot the smoking Jounin a look, but genially jogged along beside him.

The third and last time happened when he arrived at the missions desk to see Tsunade leaning against it. Iruka shot a panicked look at the clock, but he still had a few minutes. It did not however escape his notice that everyone was staring at him and … grinning. Including the Hokage.

"Tsunade-sama," Iruka said, bowing deeply.  
"Ah, Iruka-san! Just the ninja I wanted to see." This could not, in any way, shape, or form, be good.  
"Ah, yes?"  
"I wondered if you knew who was responsible for the naked picture. I wanted to say thanks to them for livening things up a little around here today."

Naked pictures. No, that wasn't good.

"Why would I…" Iruka was fairly sure he didn't want an answer to that question.  
"Why, because it's of you of course." Through the rushing in his ears he could distinctly hear Asuma say 'Twenty he has a stroke. Any takers?' That helped shock him back to himself, along with the realisation that there was only one person who could have taken naked pictures of him…and he couldn't imagine Kakashi sharing.  
"Is that so? May I see?" He heard Asuma swear and pass some bills to Genma, but he was more interested in the square of paper the Hokage had. Maybe an altered image? If somebody had pasted his head on a centerfold again he was going to get pissy.

Taking the square, he realised it was indeed a real picture of him naked, helpfully labelled 'Iruka-Sensei' in Naruto's awkward script. _I'm going to have to teach him to disguise that_ part of him thought.

The rest of him though, was taken up with relief that it was in fact a baby photo.

One year old Iruka grinned happily up at him from the bath, hanging on to the side and a tattered brown washcloth. It was perfectly innocent, you couldn't even see below his waist.

"Hokage-sama, as everyone here is obviously lacking for entertainment, may I make a suggestion? We could put up a collection of baby photos of those who work here. I know I have one or two which I'd _love_ to share with everybody."  
"What a lovely idea Iruka, we should make this into a contest. We'll give it two weeks I think…I'll have to come up with some sort of prize." She said thoughtfully "Well, everyone give it your best shot, I can't wait to see what will turn up." With that she strode out of the room, leaving several ninja cursing in her wake.

Asuma in particular had good reason to swear. Iruka _remembered_ what he'd been like as a child – hyperactive even for a ninja brat, and there were plenty of photos to prove it.

Iruka thought the one with Asuma's head stuck through the back of a chair would be particularly illuminating for those who'd missed that stage of his development the first time around.

That picture was in fact a big hit, though not as surprising as the one of Ibiki. There was something about seeing the head of the Torture and Interrogation squad in a high chair covered with cheerio's that just didn't seem right.

Though Iruka did notice that Ibiki started getting invited out more.

The fact that he didn't take it down led Iruka to think that Ibiki, strictly speaking, didn't mind everyone being more comfortable with him

Or it could have been the fact that the Hokage had threatened to break the fingers of anyone caught removing photos.

Of course, it didn't escape anyone's notice that she did just that when one of her went up. No one was willing to confess to posting the picture of a five year old Tsunade-chan throwing a full out hissy fit, formal kimono and all.

But Iruka had seen Jiraya-sama wandering through that day and had a pretty good idea of the source.

Comparatively, the shot of Gai in red footie pyjamas was pretty anti-climactic.

Somewhere in the middle, Iruka started wondering if there were any of Kakashi.

His lover was camera shy, and had been for a long time. It was partially for security reasons – there was no point in making it _easier_ for Konoha's enemies to use henge, and partially Kakashi being Kakashi.

That was something Iruka had adapted to, but doubted he would ever get used to.

Iruka spent a while mulling it over. There _were_ compulsory photographs in the files, taken at each rank change, and a current one for…identification purposes, but taking or copying those was forbidden. And besides, Iruka didn't want a picture of a seven year old in uniform, glaring out at him. It would give him the creeps.

The medical files were tightly controlled, but Iruka worked in records, so people generally didn't bother keeping him out.

Kakashi's folder was thick, but Iruka didn't read it. He wouldn't invade his lover's privacy. Kakashi being Kakashi though, Iruka'd bet good money that any piece of paper with _either_ of their names on it had long since been committed to memory.

They were different people though, and Iruka didn't want to see his lover's young face kunai-gouged with a dead child's eyeball stuck in it. Catching the odd word on the reports was enough.

One of the sheets in the report was covered with bloody fingerprints. Kakashi's? The doctor's? It didn't matter. He copied the page over, replaced it in the file, and destroyed the original. Leaving a special Jounin's blood where anyone could get to it was a stupid risk.

Iruka could think of several nasty ways to use it, and he was hardly the most creative in that department.

But in the end, there wasn't anything Iruka wanted in there; the file began with Kakashi's field career, and that was already too late.

Iruka spent the next couple of days hunting around Konoha for baby pictures in every spare moment he had. Somewhere along the line, this had turned from an abstract 'what if…' to a quest for Kakashi's innocence. To know that there was some left, even if only on paper. Something Iruka could give a man who was just _farther ahead_, even if Kakashi had never, not even once, made it a contest between them.

Iruka still made a point of going by the board daily. There were a lot of interesting photos going up, but somehow it had become less important.

He didn't have any luck going around the former area of the Hatake clan, from what the neighbours said, they'd been antisocial, even for ninja.

He'd tried tracking down Kakashi's mother, and had found an unholy mess that put the one with his father to shame.

He'd even considered poking around the abandoned Uchiha complex, but the chances of finding anything there were minimal. From what little Kakashi had said, he'd met Obito after he'd become a Chuunin. Besides, there was something…off about that part of town.

Iruka had more or less run out of ideas (not given up, if eight years of bludgeoning knowledge into thick little skulls hadn't done that, nothing would), before it occurred to him to wonder _where_ the rest of Kakashi's medical file was. Yes it started with Genin status, but what about the training? What about childhood immunizations? Baby photos?

Iruka knew for a fact they hadn't been thrown out. Bureaucracy never threw anything out, it didn't know how.

Two hours later, he was sipping tea in a small house on the edge of Konoha. It was one of the poorer districts, but the house itself was spotless.

"Of course I have pictures dearie, one of every baby I delivered." Sato-san chuckled. "Reckon I might have held half of Konoha in these two hands, one time or another. My question is why should I give them up? And to someone I hardly know at that."

Iruka struggled with his answer. Something told him that offering money would be an insult, but he couldn't be honest about why he was looking either.

Finally Iruka settled for asking if there was anything he could trade.

"Hmm, tell you what dearie," Sato said with a bright smile "Pictures aren't labelled. If you can pick out the one you want – only one mind you, and put the right name to it on the first go round, you can keep it. Sound fair?"

And so in short order, Iruka was leafing through a truly massive box of photos. If they were in order, it wasn't one Iruka recognised.

There were babies from every clan in Konoha, big and small, squalling and asleep, even some from clans Iruka didn't recognise. Who were the people with the green hair?

"Hana clan, the treetalkers," explained Sato. "Yondaime trained with them, but their complex was outside the great wall to the west so…" The Kyuubi had come from the west.

"Is this my father? Did you deliver him?" Iruka had been sure his father had been born in Wave country.

"Actually dearie, that's your uncle, the youngest of the three." Iruka nodded, there had been almost a dozen Umino in Konoha at one point. He'd been the only one for a very long time.

There were more pictures. Iruka had been so sure he'd know Kakashi's when he saw it, but now he was starting to doubt. All the faces were starting to look the same, unmarked by time and misfortune. Had he already passed it? Would Sato-san reach into the discard pile and pull Kakashi out?

He stopped frozen at one infant.

"Is this _me_?" He looked so small, lying on the blanket.

"Indeed it is dearie. Day after you were born. That the one you wanted?" Iruka shook his head mutely. He was about to put it down when he noticed something.

"Where's the birthmark on my foot?"

"Second toe on the left?" Well, Sato-san might be pushing eighty, but there was obviously nothing wrong with her memory. "That's no birthmark dearie, it's a scar. Ingrown toenail when you were two. Your father was frantic with guilt – you'd think he'd cut your foot off, the way he went on. Then your mother got home from her mission to find you in the hospital – now there was a dustup! Half the doctors were in hiding, and the other half were laying bets."

"I don't remember that at all," Iruka murmured. He took the next photo out of the box.

There had been green haired babies, black haired babies and babies with blond hair so fine it looked white. But even though this baby was as bald as a mushroom top, Iruka knew it was Kakashi.

"Found it then?" Ironic really, that in this whole big box they'd been right beside each other all along.

"This is Kakashi isn't it?"

"The Hatake boy? That's who you were after?" She sounded a little surprised, which make Iruka smile.

"Well the one of Anko-chan sucking her thumb is nice too, but this is the one I want." Besides, the one that had already gone up of her waving a handful of half-eaten worms was so much more charming.

"Well, you've found it then." Sato sounded a little put out, Iruka noticed. "If you ever get tired of it…"

"I'll return it. And if you ever want to see it, I will be pleased to return your hospitality. Thank you for the gift Sato san. I greatly appreciate it."

As Iruka walked home, he looked at the photo again.

Kakashi, Iruka was amused to note, had been quite an ugly baby. He was red and wrinkly, and from the looks of things, howling at the top of his lungs. Not a trace of the gorgeous determined man he would become.

Iruka decided that out of all the photos he'd seen this week, he liked this one the best.

This picture was perfect.

OWARI


End file.
